New Study: Franchise Laws Create ‘Hardships” for Wineries
A new study on the impact of the wine franchise laws is due to be published in The International Journal of Wine Business Research (Issue 25, No. 2): ‘The Impact of Wine Franchise Laws on Consumer Choice and Pricing: A Comparison Between Georgia and Florida.”
More than 20 states across the US, including in the Midwest, have liquor related franchise laws in place. These laws often provide monopoly protection regulations to safeguard the distributors.
According to Wine Business — who have published an advance summary of the study results — ‘All of the wineries agreed that operating in franchise states, such as Georgia, created hardships for them.”
The wine franchise laws are particularly relevant to the Midwest wine industry. Smaller wineries can have a real battle getting adequate representation from the big distributors.
Last month a bill in Missouri – an amendment to Senate Bill 114 – that would have strengthened the franchise laws and the position of alcohol distributors, stalled in the Senate. Reports on the web suggest many other similar bills are pending in other states around the USA.
